Captain Tim Johnson provided some historical background on the emergence of open water swimming on the national level in America.

In August 1925, then-American President Calvin Coolidge sponsored the national open water swimming championship in the Potomac River over a 3-mile course. It was an annual event, called the President’s Cup, hosted by the Washington Canoe Club..

According to Johnson, the governing body AAU designated the event from Chain Bridge to Georgetown as a national championship event where up to ten swimmers could compete from each club, but only the first three finishers scored points. Because each swimmer was escorted by a canoe, the Washington Canoe Club served as an excellent host. The winning team kept the President's Cup for a year and returned the following year to defend its title in the years before the Great Depression.

But the history of national open water swimming championships in the United States goes back further than 1925 according to Johnson. "[The swimmers] were constantly racing and [they were] calling [the events either] championships or All-American something beginning in the 1880's (described in the History of Open-Water Marathon Swimming). The New York Athletic Club hosted events either in the Harlem River starting in the 1880's or at Travers Island from floating docks."

Johnson continued with his authoritative grasp of open water swimming history, "I'm sure the New York Athletic Club has the last trophy called the President's Cup in their display cabinets.

There were also local races that weren't as publicized in Philadelphia, Washington, San Francisco, Chicago and Boston [starting] from the 1880's which is included in the [History of Open-Water Marathon Swimming].

But there was not much consistency from year to year which happened in the 19th and early part of the 20th century. The start of the NSA in 1883 in Philadelphia was interesting because the AAU was functioning at that time. The "informal half mile 1885" claimed the record for the 1/2 mile that fueled sanctioning organizations. I was surprised to see 8-time Charlie Daniels listed in an open water contest, but that is what Travers Island [competitions] were in the beginning. They swam between floats in Long Island Sound."

The AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) records show a slew of interesting national records accepted in 1902 for the following events:

Schaeffer, whose nickname was Midget, was the first great American college swimmer who took his talents to the open water where he set numerous records. And, like other talented swimmers of that era, he did not limit his athletic exploits to merely competitive swimming. He held the American record for swimming underwater (232 ft. 11 in), was a diving champion, an accomplished water polo player.

The Other Shore

The Other Shore follows world record holder and legendary swimmer Diana Nyad as she comes out of a thirty-year retirement to re-attempt an elusive dream: swimming 103 miles non-stop from Cuba to Florida without the use of a shark cage. Her past and present collide in her obsession with a feat that nobody has ever accomplished. At the edge of The Devil’s Triangle, tropical storms, sharks, venomous jellyfish, and one of the strongest ocean currents in the world, all prove to be life-threatening realities. Timothy Wheeler’s documentary brings Diana Nyad’s extraordinary adventure to life as Diana sets out to prove that will and determination are all you need to make the unimaginable possible.LEARN MORE...

2014 Open Water Swimming Almanac

An Almanac for Open Water Swimming

An almanac is essentially a body of knowledge which is so complete that it enables people in different fields to make predictions about the future of their respective industries.

This, for example, was the purpose of the traditional farmers almanacs. It enabled farmers to determine as accurately as possible which crops to plant for the greatest harvests in a given year.

But the farmers almanac was just one example among many. There are, of course, many different kinds of almanacs.

Congratulations to Antonio Argüelles Díaz-González of Mexico

Congratulations to Andrea Fazio of Italy

Congratulations to World Ice Swimming Championships In Murmansk, Russia

2015 World Open Water Swimming Offering of the Year

Lewis Pugh Presents WOWSA Awards at Big Chill Swim

5 February 2016 in Windermere

2014 & 2015 WOWSA Awards

World Open Water Swimming Man of the Year, World Open Water Swimming Woman of the Year, World Open Water Swimming Performance of the Year and World Open Water Swimming Offering of the Year will be celebrated at the Big Chill Swim, one of the world's largest winter swimming festivals

FINIS Custom Suits

Swim Pain Free

Open Water Personality Test

Professional Open Water Coaching

Ocean Games In New Jersey

1 - 3 - 9 mile ocean swims on July 19th

FINIS Instinct

FINIS Agility Paddles

One of the World's Top Open Water Swim

Open Water Swimming in Italy

SWIM THE ISLAND is the ultimate open water swimming event taking place in the fascinating Marine Protected Area of Bergeggi, in the north-west coast of Italy. The event takes place in an absolutely spectacular natural setting, offering swimmers the vision of one of the most extraordinary seabeds of the Mediterranean sea.